Abstract
Calls to four telephone counseling services, or "hotlines", each serving communities in a major metropolitan area of the United States (Detroit, Washington DC, Dallas and Seattle), were analyzed for influence from daily weather. Associations with synoptic weather types, as well as with individual weather elements, were investigated. Although no conclusive evidence was found linking weather to emotional state, calls tended to be fewer for ''nice'' weather conditions. Specifically, two of the three hotlines included in the weather type analysis - those in the Detroit and Washington areas - experienced a decrease in calls on ''ridge'' days, classified as such when the metropolitan area was positioned near the center of high pressure; these days were characterize by sunny and dry conditions with light winds. The decrease was statistically significant only for Detroit, but consistent across seasons except fall for both Detroit and Washington. Consistent with this finding, calls tended to increase with cloudiness for two of the hotlines - Detroit and Seattle - and occur more on days with precipitation for all but the Dallas hotline.
Stillman, Daniel Noah (2000). Weather and emotional state: a search for associations between weather and calls to telephone counseling services. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2000 -THESIS -S77.